Rememberance
by Crius
Summary: Anakin returns to the Light after the Massacre at the Temple. How will he balance his prophesied destiny against his family, how will his Jedi brethren react to his fall, and how will he protect everything he loves from Palpatine?
1. Redemption

**Rememberance**

Summary: Anakin returns to the Light on the landing platform. As the Jedi struggle to survive and the Rebellion is quietly begun, how will Anakin balance his prophesied destiny against his family? And more importantly how will he protect them from Palpatine?

Disclaimer: I own nothing. No copyright infringement is intended. Just a harmless piece of fun, but please don't reproduce this without asking me first!

Pairings: AnakinxAmidala

Author Note: Yes, I know, this particular scene from Revenge of the Sith has been rewritten ad nauseam, but I couldn't really resist doing my own, and it just kind of grew from there. I hope you like it.

I now have a volunteer beta for this story, Ten no Kasou. Many thanks to him/her. Between us, I hope we can turn this into a story that is a cut above the average rewrite of the platform scene.

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"Destroy the Sith we must." 

Yoda's words echoed in his head, but he was slow to grasp their meaning. He protested against going after Anakin, insisting he could not kill him.

"He is like my brother. I cannot do it."

Yoda, however, was immovable once he reached a decision. He insisted that the Force would guide Obi-Wan, and so it had, leading him to Padmé, who had told him nothing herself, but who had immediately run to Anakin herself to seek the truth of the accusations Obi-Wan had made. Stowing away on her ship was ridiculously easy for him for. Sshe had eschewed all security for the trip to Mustafar, taking only Threepio with her.

Watching her confront Anakin was probably the most painful thing he had ever done in his life up to that point. For their conversation revealed just how far he had fallen. More than the words, the tone Anakin was using, one of dismissal and unimportance, to one whom he claimed to love, told Obi-Wan that Anakin no longer cared for anyone. How wrong he had been to think that. Then Anakin saw him standing there on the ship's ramp, and like a fire instantly ignited, rage rose up to replace indifference. He did not even look at her as he began crushing her throat. Instead he glared with consuming hatred at Obi-Wan, reached his fist out towards him. But it was Padmé who choked, Padmé who nearly died. In the madness of anger Anakin had thought he was killing his master. He had admitted that not long after. Obi-Wan wondered if that should have hurt him, that his surrogate brother had wanted to kill him. But by the time Anakin had admitted it they had been through so much, were so much closer, that it had meant nothing to him. Those thoughts had belonged to Darth Vader, to a man that no longer existed.

"Let her go Anakin!"

Perhaps it was the strong tone of his voice where Anakin had expected only choking sounds. Perhaps it was his use of the word "her". Whatever the reason, his command brought Anakin's attention to the fact that it was not Obi-Wan, but Padmé who was choking on the verge of death. For one terrible moment he just stood there watching as his wife choked and spluttered in his insubstantial grip pleading with him with her eyes. And in that moment Obi-Wan's heart filled with the knowledge of what he must do. He had fallen, Obi-Wan was certain of it, and now it was Obi-Wan's duty to kill his best friend for the good of the galaxy. He felt no anger, only sadness at the thought. Then, as quickly as Anakin's indifference had turned to rage at the sight of Obi-Wan, rage turned to horror at the sight of Padmé choking in his grip. In an instant he let her go, and then caught her at once in his arms as she swayed and fell.

The entire sequence of events had lasted perhaps three or four minutes from the start of Anakin and Padmé's conversation to the point where Anakin had released her from his choking grip. But those three or four minutes had lasted several lifetimes for Obi-Wan. He had seen so much, thought so much in that short space of time that it defied belief. He had seen the impossible twice. He had witnessed his best friend, the greatest Jedi Knight in the Order, perhaps the greatest in all the history of the Order as a pawn of the Sith, a monster twisted by the Dark Side. Then he had watched as the one thing that the Order had unequivocally forbidden him, the one thing that they in all their wisdom had said no Jedi could risk having because it might bring them nearer the Dark Side, had been the thing to bring his friend's mind and soul back towards the Light.

Then Anakin too collapsed. Obi-Wan had feared then that something had happened to his friend. Some unseen attack, perhaps from Palpatine, to destroy Anakin rather than see him returned to the ranks of the Jedi. But hurrying over he was relieved to find Anakin still most definitely alive, though clearly distraught, sobbing over his wife's unconscious body. Crouching down he reached out with the Force, checking Padmé's condition. Her life force remained strong and bright, somewhat diminished by her recent ordeals, both physical and emotional, at the hands of her husband, but not in any danger of fading at that point. But his probing through the Force brought Anakin's attention back to him. Anakin looked up at him, and he looked into the shredded soul of a man who knew that he had done terrible things, things that should condemn him to death and eternal torment.

"Help her, master. Save her."

He could never forget the tone in which Anakin said those words. Never before had he heard Anakin speak in such a desolate tone of pleading, as if asking for something he knew he had no right to, and never again after his recovery had Anakin used it. He sought to reassure Anakin.

"She is safe, Anakin."

But Anakin was not satisfied by his reassurances.

"Protect her, master. Please…promise me you'll protect her."

In the face of such pleading, especially from Anakin for Padmé's safety, he could not have not consented.

"I will make sure she is safe, Anakin. Now come, we must leave this place."

He gathered Padmé up in his arms and started towards the ship, assuming that Anakin would follow. But then behind him he heard the tell-tale sound of a lightsaber igniting. Whirling he set himself as best he could to dodge an attack, still clutching Padmé in his arms. But Anakin was still kneeling, almost half a dozen feet away, just staring at his bright blue blade. Still wary, he set Padmé down on the ground and took out his own lightsaber, but left it unlit. For long moments they remained like that, he watching Anakin and Anakin watching his lightsaber. Then without warning Anakin swung his lightsaber towards his own neck. Too far away to intervene physically, he did the only thing he could do: used the Force to alter the path of Anakin's blade ever so slightly so that it missed him. Then he leapt to interpose his own blade between Anakin and his blade.

It was ironic, perhaps, that he had come expecting a lightsaber duel. He had now gotten one, but not in the way he had imagined. He had come prepared to defend his own life and end Anakin's if necessary. Now he was fighting to save Anakin's life from Anakin himself. It was proving to be much more difficult to do than it would have been to simply try to take Anakin's life. For one thing he could not just worry about Anakin's blade, he had to worry about his own, for either would end Anakin's life just as easily. For another thing his old apprentice was a skilled swordsman, and he was hard pressed to keep up with Anakin's attempts on his own life. It was a heated battle, and once or twice he had to prevent Anakin from ending his own life in other ways, such as trying to jump off the landing platform and into the lava flows far below. But in the end he managed to take Anakin's lightsaber away from him, and at that point all the fight left Anakin. He simply collapsed into wracking sobbing on the ground.

They had to leave, however, for he was sure that Anakin's fall back to the Light would not go unnoticed by Palpatine. They had to get away from here before he came to reclaim his apprentice. So he was not able to leave Anakin to his grief. Instead he walked over and helped Anakin to his feet. The young Jedi would not meet his eyes, but instead looked studiously at his own boots, tears dripping off his face at a steady rate. It shook him deeply. He had expected many things of his old padawan, but attempted suicide was not one of them. With the young Jedi leaning on his shoulder, he picked up Padmé and guided Anakin to the ship. Knowing that he would have to keep an eye on Anakin for the moment, and that he could not take any chances, he laid Padmé out on a bed in one of the cabins. Then he went around the ship, with Anakin still leaning on his shoulder, and collected up all the weapons on the ship. Blasters, vibroblades, even kitchen knives and one or two ornaments with points or sharp edges all got hastily swept up and he carried them out of the ship and tossed them all off the edge of the landing platform. To the falling stream of objects he added Anakin's lightsaber, then with some regret he took out his own and dropped it as well.

_A Jedi's lightsaber is his life, you must not lose it._

How many times had he admonished Anakin in such a way when he had lost his lightsaber? If Anakin became lucid he would tell him about this, and Anakin would never let him forget it. Better, he decided, than the alternative of Anakin killing himself with his lightsaber. Then he had walked back to the ship, still supporting Anakin, who had given up crying and was now staring at nothing in particular, the blank look in his eyes proclaiming his lack of anything resembling his normal personality or even his darker side. He strapped Anakin into the co-pilot's chair then sat in the pilot's chair and took off, heading out of the atmosphere and towards space.

After they had safely made the jump to hyperspace he got up and went over to Anakin, to try and shake him out of whatever state he was in. But one look at Anakin's closed eyes and a quick check through the Force told him that Anakin was sleeping soundly, so he went back to check on Padmé. Unlike Anakin, she was awake and sitting up on her bed.

"Is it done, Obi-Wan?" she asked tremulously, "Did you do it?"

"I did nothing" he said, calmly, "There was no need."

"What do you mean? Is he dead?"

"On the contrary, Padmé, he is in the cockpit, sleeping."

"What?!!" she shrieked, shrinking against the wall of the cabin that the bed was placed up against, "How could you, Obi-Wan? I thought you said he turned to the Dark Side! And from what I saw down there it looks like you were right!"

"Yes," he conceded, "I was right. But," he continued holding up his hand as she showed every sign of wanting to interrupt, "You did what I would have thought impossible. You brought him back to us."

"I did?" she seemed surprised by this fact which now seemed so obvious to him.

"I will explain as best I can Padmé," he said.

She inclined her head in acknowledgement and as a gesture for him to go on.

"Anakin loves you Padmé, more than anything else in the galaxy. He would do anything for you, absolutely anything. He turned to the Sith because he thought that only with Sith powers could he prevent something terrible happening to you. That much was clear from your conversation. I think that it was the fact that it was you who was being hurt by his dark powers is what made him see that it was not the right path. He cannot bear anything that hurts you, as I think you know. He would rather die than see you harmed in any way. So seeing that the Dark Side hurt you, he turned away from it. But at the same time he believes he needs the power of the Dark Side to save you. I have felt the confusion that this is causing him. It is also clear that he feels great remorse for having hurt you. After you fell into unconsciousness he made me promise to protect you and then tried to take his own life. He was most…determined, about it. We are lucky that he is still alive at all."

"He tried to…" she trailed off.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"Oh, Obi-Wan. What are we going to do?"

"I have rid us of all possible weapons Anakin might use in another attempt on his own life. Other than that the only thing we can do is be there for him, until we reach Master Yoda. He may have a solution where we do not."

Whatever his personal feelings about their union, he had to admit that Padmé was probably the best way to stop Anakin from killing himself, at least until they and Master Yoda could find some way to end his wish for death. They needed him now more than ever. Who knew how many Jedi were left after the clone troopers' betrayal? They needed every one left. Padmé was his strongest reason for living now. But once they returned to Master Yoda, Obi-Wan hoped that together they would be able to make him see that continuing the Jedi Order and defeating Palpatine were at least equally good reasons to keep living. He rose to return to the cockpit, leaving Anakin alone was not wise, given his current state of mind. Padmé rose with him. As they returned to the cockpit she said hesitantly:

"Obi-Wan I wish we had told you before, about us I mean. If we had then this might not have happened."

"In some ways I too wish you had told me before Padmé," he replied gently, "But remember that if you had Anakin would have been expelled from the Jedi Order unless he divorced you. You know, I think, that he would certainly have chosen you over the Order in the end. And then where would we have been? His feats and the positive image he gave for the Jedi may have done more for us than we will ever know or appreciate."

"Perhaps," she said, now looking at him steadily, "But I wish we had trusted you with it."

He did not want to say anything about it now. But to some extent he was glad that they had chosen to keep it a secret between them. Choosing between Anakin and his loyalty to the principles of the Order would have made all the missions he had been on in the Clone Wars seem simple by comparison.

They got to the cockpit and found Anakin still sleeping. Obi-Wan settled into the pilot's chair while Padmé crouched down beside the co-pilot's chair, a decidedly awkward position given her condition, and looked into the face of her sleeping husband. He concentrated on the navigation console, looking over the course the navi-computer had calculatede various legs of their journey. Their destination was an outlying system and the known hyperspace routes to it were few. There would be some cruising at sub-light to cross uninhabited systems, but the journey would only take them a day or two.Thus even though the system was not far they would not be there until late the next morning.

His attention was pulled away from the navigation console by a sudden surge in Anakin's presence. He was waking up. He got up and went to stand behind Anakin's chair. Suddenly Anakin's eyes blinked open and he looked around in confusion. At first he did not seem to know where he was. But then his eyes alighted on Padmé. The rush of pain and remorse that pulsed out from Anakin then was almost like a physical blow to him, and Obi-Wanhe had to put a hand on the chair to steady himself.

"Padmé?" Anakin whispered, one hand going out to touch her face. His eyes filled with tears. "Oh Padmé, I'm so sorry. Sorry for everything. Please believe me."

"Shh," she soothed, taking his hand in hers and then pulling him into an embrace, "Hush, my love. It's over now. I'm alright. We're both safe now, and that's what matters."

They remained like that for some time. At last, however, Anakin pushed her away gently. He could not see Anakin's face, but his tone said much, and the Force even more, about how he felt.

"I cannot," he said in a hoarse voice, "What I did, it cannot be so easily put aside. You don't know, Padmé, the things that I did."

"It doesn't matter," she said, "You weren't yourself. You were under the influence of the Dark Side."

"No!" he said, forcefully, "It's not like that. You don't understand. The Dark Side is powerful yes, but it's a choice. I have to leave. I'm too dangerous to be around. What if I slip back, make the same choice again?"

Obi-Wan could not hold his silence any more. This was something that Padmé could not argue about. She did not know enough to argue this point with Anakin.

"You are no more likely to do so than I am, Anakin."

He was surprised by Anakin's surprise at his presence. Apparently Anakin had not felt him there, which was odd given his attunement to the Force. Nevertheless the surprised expression on Anakin's face as he turned to face his old master matched his feelings in the Force. Was Anakin drawing away from the Force, he asked himself. It was understandable, given his condition and the things he had done, but it was something that they could not afford now. Anakin was needed as the powerful Jedi that he was, not as a man who refused to use the Force, and certainly not as the exile he was suggesting he ought to be. But how to make _him_ see that?

"You're wrong," Anakin whispered, "You don't know what it's like."

"Perhaps not," he agreed, "But I believe in you Anakin. I trust you not to make the same mistake twice."

"How?" he croaked back, "How can you possibly trust me like that? Especially after what I did."

"Am I lying then?," Obi-Wan asked, spreading his hands, "You would feel it if I was, Anakin. Do I lie?"

Anakin's eyes narrowed.

"I know what you're trying to do, Master," he said in a low voice, "It won't work. I can't be trusted with the Force anymore."

Obi-Wan lifted one eyebrow.

"Can't be trusted? By whom? I trust you with the Force. Padmé trusts you with it. Only you do not trust yourself with it. Overconfidence can be a weakness, Anakin, I have told you that many times. But lack of confidence can be just as damaging. Perhaps even more so."

"How could my not using the Force be more damaging than my returning to the Dark Side?"

Obi-Wan was glad that Anakin was challenging him. Before it was exasperating, especially when he had been a padawan. Then, he had needed a reason for everything and he was forever trying to make out that his ways were better than anything Obi-Wan or a thousand generations of Jedi could come up with; a fact that had often had Obi-Wan frustrated with his padawan's lack of acceptance. Now however, it was a good thing. If he was challenging Obi-Wan then he was thinking rationally, as opposed to having reason overwhelmed by his guilt.

"Consider, Anakin, all the good you could do that would be lost if you gave up using the Force. Consider also that there are, including you, only three Jedi that we know about surviving in the galaxy. For all we know we may be the last. And so it will be up to us to re-establish the Order. Finally consider the fact that you are the Chosen One. It is still your destiny to destroy the Sith and return balance to the Force. You cannot hide from your destiny, the Force will not let you."

It seemed Anakin had no reply to that, so he said nothing for several moments. Then at last he spoke again, trying to lighten the mood.

"Besides, my old padawan, the life of an exile would be profoundly…boring, for you."

Anakin smiled, wanly, but it was better than nothing. Obi-Wan remembered fondly now all the times that Anakin had proclaimed himself bored. Usually he had chosen the most inconvenient times to do so, such as when Obi-Wan was meditating, or during long flights through hyperspace. Usually his boredom had been cured by an exasperated Obi-Wan by some small chore or other. But despite this he had used the comment often, and filed it away as a way of distracting Obi-Wan, and then proceeded to pull it out at other highly inconvenient times, such as in the middle of lightsaber sparring matches, when concentration was needed. Over the years it had become an inside joke between them, one that was still good for a smile or a small chuckle occasionally. And now it seemed that smiles and small chuckles were the best way to occupy Anakin. So Obi-Wan proceeded to provide them, in the form of small but amusing stories about things he and Anakin had done together, first as master and apprentice, then as two fellow Jedi Knights, then finally as Master and Knight. Padmé proved a good audience as he recounted, and soon Anakin was chiming in with his additions to the stories. Together they smiled and laughed at the various scrapes and awkward situations that he and Anakin had gotten themselves into over the years.

It was late in the night according to the ship's clock when they finally stopped. Anakin was still laughing at the story of the time he had accidentally wandered into the streets of Coruscant near the Jedi Temple and found a number of highly interesting droids abandoned in an alley. He had reactivated the droids and led them back to the Temple. Little had he realised that the droids in question were old model assassin droids, and he had set off a major alert that had caused several Jedi Masters to rush to the front gate to defend against an invasion by Anakin, who had been all of eleven at the time, and his escort of assassin droids. He had simply wandered up to the main gate and blithely asked one of the masters, a female Duros whose name escaped Obi-Wan now, whether he could come in now, completely ignoring her humming lightsaber and the lightsabers of the other Jedi Masters. Then it had been yet another episode in the long string of calamities that Anakin had caused at the Temple through a combination of his wanderlust and his penchant for being able to slip out of the Temple even after he had been denied clearance to leave through the gates, and Obi-Wan had spent a good half hour explaining to the Council that he had not known anything about this, had certainly not encouraged it and would certainly have stopped his padawan if he could find out how in the name of the Force he managed to leave the Temple without passing through any of the gates. Anakin never had told him the secret of how he had managed to get out of the Temple so easily and often. At last the laughter faded and Anakin looked at him, amusement still shining in his bright blue eyes, which were now tinged with only a hint of yellow at the edges. He had wanted to ask Anakin about the odd colouring of his eyes before, but for now he did not want to bring up painful subjects again. For now it was enough to see Anakin laughing and smiling as though nothing had happened at all. Eventually they would have to come back to the trouble filled galaxy they had left behind briefly. But for now he wanted Anakin to find some peace in the love of his wife and his best friend. Anakin looked down at Padmé, who was now sleeping quietly. Looking at his master, Anakin grinned slightly and put a finger to his lips. Then he gathered Padmé up in his arms and carried her off to one of the cabins. Obi-Wan watched Anakin step inside and close the door behind him with the Force. Then he decided that it was a good idea and took the other cabin for himself.

He took off his over-robe, his boots and his over-tunic. Then he lay down on the bed. But sleep did not come at once, so he lay awake and thought of what had happened and what lay ahead. He considered Anakin's fall and return. He sensed that Anakin had rejected the Dark Side. But he still had no knowledge of why Anakin had chosen that path in the first place, and without such knowledge he could not be certain that Anakin would not fall again. He had told Anakin that he trusted him. And that was true, he did trust him not to fall. But he also realised that his trust was not the same as his certainty. He also considered Anakin himself. Considering that not so many hours ago he had been distraught to the point of suicide, he had recovered remarkably well. But Anakin was adept at hiding his feelings, both from himself and others. He would still bear close watching for some time. But did they have time to be sure of Anakin's recovery? Removing Palpatine was necessary, before his hold on absolute power became too great to dislodge him. And they would certainly need Anakin for that. It was his destiny to destroy the Sith, so logically they could not succeed without him. Unless there was yet another Sith Lord out there, but that was a very remote possibility. In the end, he supposed, they could only take the next day as it came. The future was not in their hands, but in the hands of all, and thus in the hands of the Force. The only thing they could do was trust in it. With that thought sleep claimed him.

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What do you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? Leave a review to let me know. 


	2. Dreams and Paths

For disclaimers, warnings and pairing notifications see Chapter 1.

Author Note: Ok it's bee a while since this story showed any signs of life (online at least, I'm still writing it as we speak, or rather as you read). In spite of a flurry of e-mails in her direction, I've not heard anything from my beta, Ten No Kasou in over a month now. I'm not sure what's going on, whether she's getting them, whether they're going astray or being instantly junked or what. Ten if you happen to read this please get in touch! I said I would wait until the whole thing was betaed before posting another chapter, but I don't want anyone to think this story is abandoned (I have over 30k words typed already!) so here is the next chapter, unbetaed. Any and all mistakes, corruptions and plain badness are mine, critical commentary is welcome.

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A number of hours later he woke up as a massive surge of grief twisted the Force nearby. There could only be one source for such grief and remorse, so he got up and fairly leapt through his own door and into the cabin Padmé and Anakin were sharing. There he found Anakin on the floor, thrashing about in his sleep and crying out. Padmé was on the floor beside him, cradling him as best she could, and absorbing a few blows from him as he flailed around in his sleep. She shushed and soothed him to no avail. At once Obi-Wan stepped over and laid a hand on Anakin's forehead. He closed his eyes and opened himself to the Force and quickly sent a small compulsion into Anakin's mind. Almost at once Anakin calmed down and continued to sleep peacefully. However doing this opened Obi-Wan's mind to Anakin's, and for a terrible moment he saw Anakin's dream. The dream was visceral and full of intense emotions, but the events were clear. Anakin stood in the Jedi Temple, looking at its now empty corridors, empty except for the corpses of the slain Jedi that littered the floors. One by one, however, each and every body changed, until Anakin was looking at scores of bodies that all looked like Padmé. At that point the images faded, but the feelings of anger and remorse continued to assail Obi-Wan for several more moments before he broke contact with Anakin's mind. He opened his eyes to find Padmé staring anxiously at him.

"What was it?" she asked in a whisper.

"Nightmares," he replied, quietly, "After what he has been through I suppose he is entitled to a few, there is little we can do about it until we can find the root cause of them. For now he will sleep soundly for several more hours."

"What was his nightmare about?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow at the unexpected question.

"What makes you think I know?"

"Obi-Wan," she said crossing her arms, "You were kneeling there for a good five minutes. Anakin went quiet after the first two or three. Do you really expect me to believe that you spent at least five minutes kneeling there with your eyes shut for fun?"

Five minutes? It had seemed like only a few moments to him. Perhaps that nightmare was more than a simple nightmare. He had heard that time sense could be altered by visions. But if that was a vision what could it have meant? Nothing good, he was sure of that.

"He was seeing a hall in the Jedi Temple, littered with bodies of fallen Jedi. As he watched each of the corpses changed so that they all appeared to be you. Understandable visions given his recent experiences and actions. But there is something else I must ask of you, Padmé. It is a puzzle that was bothering me earlier. When you and Anakin spoke on the landing platform, he said that he needed his new powers to protect you. May I ask to what he was referring?"

She looked down for a moment, and he felt a small rush of embarrassment from her.

"I forgot you didn't know about that," she admitted, "You know that I'm pregnant and that the child is Anakin's. Several weeks ago he started having visions of me dying in childbirth. Ever since then he's been insisting that he would find a way to prevent it. I never thought that he would resort to the Dark Side to do it."

Suddenly things were a good deal clearer. He had known that it must have been a strong reason to make Anakin turn to the Dark Side. It seemed that he was more right than he had realised when he said that Anakin would choose Padmé over the Jedi Order. He had done just that. Now Obi-Wan needed a way to make Anakin see that there were other options than the power being a Sith offered if he wanted to save Padmé. Perhaps when they reached their destination Master Yoda could offer some options for them. Deciding that he could do little more at the moment, he said good morning and went back to his cabin to get some more sleep before it was time to get up again.

The next morning he was surprised to find that Anakin was already in the small kitchen preparing breakfast when he came out of his cabin. Automatically he gauged Anakin's mood.

"Don't worry, Master," he said in a light tone and without turning around, "Suicide was yesterday's plan, today I intend to find something else to keep you occupied. So far I thought perhaps you'd like to learn a few of my Sith secrets."

Obi-Wan carefully suppressed an amused snort, that was more like the Anakin he knew, able to make a joke, albeit not a very good one in this case, out of any bad situation. But he was sure it was a very thin skin over his real feelings. Experiences like Anakin's didn't just disappear.

"Why not, Master?" Anakin asked, as though reading his mind, "Doesn't Master Yoda say that the universe is made anew each moment, and that all we have to do to change is choose and act."

"Yes I recall that," Obi-Wan replied, "But you should not gloss over the fact of your fall to and return from the Dark Side, Anakin. You must learn from your mistake, use it to armour yourself against Palpatine for next time. You know you will have to face him again, it is your destiny to destroy the Sith, and your return to us makes him the last Sith in existence."

"Obi-Wan, I don't think that will be necessary. Didn't you say Master Yoda was going after him?"

Obi-Wan was slightly surprised by such knowledge on Anakin's part, for he did not recall saying any such thing. How could Anakin possibly even know Yoda was still alive? And how could he know that Yoda intended to confront Palpatine?

"I don't recall saying it, but yes he is."

Anakin frowned at the way he had put it, but continued nonetheless.

"Don't you have faith in Master Yoda's ability?"

"He has great power Anakin, and he is skilled in the ways of the Force. But I do not think he has succeeded. I felt their conflict in the Force when I was travelling to Mustafar, and I doubt that it has continued until now. But I also sense that they are both still alive. Therefore I am hoping that he escaped and that he will be waiting at our destination. Then we can return to Coruscant and you can finish the job."

He was surprised by the bitterness and anger in his voice, and judging by his face and sense in the Force, Anakin was equally surprised to hear it. He took a deep breath and opened himself to the Force, offering up all his negative feelings to be swept away by the torrent of light that swept through him. Anakin just stared, perhaps too shocked to speak, or perhaps simply waiting.

"I don't blame you, Anakin," he said softly.

"You should then," Anakin said vehemently, "You _should _blame me for everything. After all whose fault is it if not mine? I turned to the Dark Side! I stopped Master Windu from killing Palpatine! And then I just stood there as Palpatine killed Master Windu! I killed all the Jedi at the Temple! If I had done what was right and helped Master Windu take Palpatine then none of that would have happened!"

"You may have done all these things, but they are not entirely your fault. Think for a moment, Anakin. This plan of Palpatine's was obviously going long before Qui-Gon and I even went to Naboo the first time. He could not possibly have planned on us finding you. I think his plan was to use the clones to take out the Jedi, which he did for the most part. But he took advantage of an opportunity and used you to remove the Jedi at the Temple. Had you not turned you would certainly have died along with all the others at the hands of the clones. So in a way you could suggest that the Force pushed you to turn in order to preserve your life so that you could fulfil your destiny."

That theory brought Anakin up short. And at last he turned around to look at Obi-Wan.

"I hadn't thought of it that way," he admitted. Obi-Wan chose not to say that he too had not thought of it that way until just then. However now that he did think of it that way, it seemed to make sense. There was little doubt that Palpatine had engineered everything, going all the way back to the trade blockade of Naboo so many years ago. At that time Anakin's existence had not yet been revealed, and so Palpatine's original plans could not have included him. Therefore it seemed likely that the clones were indeed the method by which Palpatine had intended to dispose of the Jedi, a method which, he reflected bitterly, had worked all too well across the galaxy. And even Anakin, powerful as he was, could not have stood against an army of clones and won. From what he had seen and heard, thousands of clones had participated in the assault on the Temple. The Jedi there had never stood a chance, even if Anakin had stood with them instead of turning on them. Therefore it was possible that the Force had sought to preserve its chosen champion by pushing him towards the Dark Side, so that he would not be killed along with the other Jedi. Now that the danger was past could he reclaim Anakin for the Light? He hoped so.

Anakin had turned around again and carried on with his preparations. When he was done he placed several of the dishes on a small tray and picked it up in both hands. Carrying it carefully he went back to the cabin he and Padmé were sharing, opened the door and went in. Obi-Wan listened as they spoke to each other. The words were indistinct of course, but the tone seemed light and amiable. At one point he heard Padmé exclaim severely:

"Ani, I'm scarcely an invalid!"

But he recognised it as devoid of real annoyance. In fact judging by her sense, Padmé was quite enjoying breakfast in bed. He prepared himself a light breakfast and then went to the cockpit to check on their progress. They were nearly at their destination, and in a few more hours they would revert to realspace and land on the small and sparsely populated asteroid colony that was their rendezvous. He was about to turn back towards his cabin when he felt Anakin coming forward again, looking for him. A few moments later Anakin stood at the entrance to the cockpit.

"We need to talk," he said.

"I agree," Obi-Wan replied, "There is much to discuss, and you will need guidance from Master Yoda and myself before we go to face Palpatine again."

"That's not what I meant," Anakin said, "I meant I need a favour."

"Another one?" he replied, trying to lighten the moment, "How many will that make that you owe me now?"

"This is not a joke, Obi-Wan! I'm serious!"

"I'm sorry old friend," he said with a hint of contrition, "Normally you're the one making the jokes. With everything that you've suffered through I thought perhaps you might appreciate some levity."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm not ready for it. You yourself said I shouldn't be quick to put this one behind me."

"So I did. But as I recall didn't you protest that view a few minutes ago?"

"I did, but this is different," Anakin replied, "I need you to get Padmé to safety for me. I can't think of anyone I'd trust more with her life, and the lives of my children. So I want you to find a place to hide while Yoda and I face the Emperor, if we still have to, that is."

Obi-Wan could only sit there, his mouth hanging open for a moment. That Anakin trusted him with something so important to him as Padmé's safety was truly astounding. He was greatly humbled by the faith his old Padawan was placing in him so soon after their nearly disastrous confrontation on Mustafar. Then he found his voice again.

"I'm touched that you would trust me with such a thing, Anakin. I promise you that so long as I breathe no harm will come to your family."

"Thank you, master."

"But you should realise that Padmé is not going to be willing to go into hiding and allow you to face Palpatine without her at least nearby. She _will_ try to come with us."

Anakin had obviously not thought about this, and the revelation that Obi-Wan was right, and that he knew something about Padmé that her own husband did not startled him into silence for a moment.

"Can't you persuade her?" he asked plaintively.

"My friend if _you_ can't, what hope have I?" Obi-Wan responded, with more than a bit of humour in his voice.

"Well you're the Jedi Master," Anakin said, now sounding more than a little desperate, "Use you mastery to convince her!"

"Anakin you know as well as I, that mind tricks only work on the weak minded, and whatever else your wife may be, she certainly does not fit into that category."

Anakin sighed.

"You're right, Master," he said eventually, "But at least promise me that you'll watch out for her, especially if something _should_ happen to me?"

"Of course, old friend."

Since Anakin said nothing further, Obi-Wan took the conversation to be over. He still had a million things he wanted to talk about with Anakin, but he decided that none of them were terribly pressing at the moment, and Anakin could probably use some space to think about things. So the two brothers sat in companionable silence, staring out the viewport at the swirl of hyperspace as they sped towards their destination.

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Please leave a review and tell me what you think! 


	3. Plans

For disclaimers, warnings and pairing notifications, see Chapter 1.

Author Note: Well the end of the month has come, and with no word from my beta I think that I'm going to have to make do without for the rest of this story. Not much else to say really, so without further ado, let us turn to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

* * *

Jedi Master Yoda watched the small Nubian skiff land in one of the docking bays in this asteroid colony that was known as Pollis Massa. He reached out through the Force to see whether or not this ship carried young Kenobi and Senator Amidala. There was little doubt, after all what else could a Nubian skiff be doing so far from Naboo? But in this dark time it did not hurt to be cautious. He immediately picked up the presences of both Kenobi and Amidala, but then his probe ran into a wall. It was quite unlike anything he had ever before encountered. He was fairly sure that such a phenomenon could only be caused by another living organism, and probably a sentient one at that. But he could not tell anything through the Force. The wall was as solid to his Force senses as a durasteel one was to his eyes. He could not tell what was on the other side at all, not even to guess what species this third being might be. He disliked the unknown, but could do little about it, and so merely accepted the fact that he would discover who the third person was when they disembarked.

Nothing, however, could have prepared him for the small company that walked down the boarding ramp of that small skiff. The diminutive Grand Master of the Jedi was not usually easily surprised. On this occasion, however, he could not suppress a surge of shock on seeing _Anakin Skywalker_ coming down the ramp, several feet behind young Kenobi, and tenderly supporting Senator Amidala, who was quite clearly pregnant. He reached out into the Force, to try to gauge whether or not Skywalker was still consumed by the Dark Side, but once again he ran into the Force barrier that he had previously encountered. His inability to read Skywalker worried him. Concealment, after all, was a power of the Dark Side. No Light Side wielder could totally mask their own presence, but Palpatine had clearly proved that the Sith had mastered that trick, well enough to fool an entire Order of Jedi. On the other hand, young Kenobi would never have brought Skywalker back with him if he were dangerous. Yoda would have to get answers from Kenobi, and soon. There was much work to be done, if they were to have any chance of defeating Palpatine and restoring the Jedi Order.

On seeing the diminutive Jedi Master standing across the hangar, waiting for them, Anakin Skywalker had to fight a sudden desire to run back into the ship and fly away. He couldn't face Master Yoda right now, perhaps not ever again. How could he look him in the eye, both of them knowing what he had done? Nevertheless, he continued to support Padmé as they made their way down the ramp. He had never yet run away from a problem, and whatever else he was now, he refused to be a coward. He could feel Yoda's eyes on him, and he felt him probing at his shields. But he did not drop them, and he met the Grand Master's stare with his own. Looking into those moss green eyes he felt again the fear that he had always felt in Yoda's presence. He had never been comfortable with the old master, ever since they had first met in the Council chambers when he had first been tested. For a moment the spectre of Vader rose once again within him, demanding that he crush the ancient Jedi Master whom he feared so much. But he silenced that malignant voice, pushing it back into the recesses of his consciousness. For a moment he considered letting himself open up, to gain Yoda's trust just a bit, by letting him see that he was sorry for what he had done. But he decided against it, fearing to touch the Force again. No matter what Obi-Wan said, he could not be trusted with that kind of power any more. His old master's faith in him was good for him. But he knew that it was unjustified. He had already proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the power of the Force was too much for him to safely handle. _Well at least if Yoda is here I won't have to, _he thought, _No way he would want my help to take out Palpatine now he's got Obi-Wan. _In fact he was very surprised that Palpatine had survived their first encounter. Nevertheless, he was now thoroughly superfluous to requirements. The Chosen One was no longer needed. Ironically he felt lost at that thought. The prophecy had always been a huge weight on his shoulders, forcing him to be better, stronger, faster and generally stupendous compared to everyone else. Now he had no need to be better he could finally relax. But the prophecy had also given his life direction. He had known what he would do with his life. Now he was cut adrift, with no guidance on where he was going next.

"Jedi Skywalker."

At first Anakin was so lost in his thoughts that he did not notice the gravelly voice calling his name. He could not, however, ignore the sudden impact of a hard piece of wood with his shins. He stopped short and looked down to find that he was now less than one step away from walking right over Master Yoda. For a moment he enjoyed the mental image of Master Yoda's face if he were to do exactly that, but quickly dismissed it, knowing that the diminutive Jedi Master would not appreciate the idea.

"Think to ignore me, do you, hmmm?" Yoda asked looking up at him.

"No, Master Yoda," Anakin said with a quick bow, made slightly awkward by the fact that he was still holding his wife's arm, "I'm sorry, I was thinking."

"See that I could," Yoda replied, "See to your wife you must, Jedi Skywalker, but when done you are, speak with you I would."

"Yes, Master." Anakin said automatically.

It was only as Yoda was walking away, leaning heavily on his gimmer stick that what had been said registered with Anakin. Now was not the time to pursue it, but apparently Yoda did not know what he had done, not if he was still calling him 'Jedi Skywalker'. It was something he would have to rectify when they did speak. Again, however, his train of thought was interrupted by a voice speaking his name. This time, however, the voice was the soft female voice of his wife.

"Ani…"

He turned to her.

"Yes, angel?"

Then he saw the worry on her face and a brief flash of pain.

"Ani," she gasped, "I think my contractions just started."

He stared at her.

"Already?" he asked, sweeping her off her feet and into his arms and then taking off at a dead run down the corridors towards the med-centre, "I thought you weren't due for another week or two."

"That's what I thought too," she said, her breath starting to come in short, sharp pants, "I guess he's in a hurry to see the world."

Although he knew little about giving birth, it was clear to him that whatever was happening to Padmé was happening fast, so he called on the Force to assist him as he sped through the stark white corridors, until he was running so fast that his feet hardly touched the floor at all.

Within minutes they reached the med-centre. Holding Padmé in his arms, Anakin raced up to the healer on duty at the desk, a young woman in her mid twenties with wavy brown hair and eyes a very light shade of green. She looked up at the sound of his approach.

"Can I help you sir?" she asked, quickly taking in him and Padmé lying in his arms.

"Yes," Anakin said, his words all coming out in a rush as panic started to insinuate itself in his consciousness, "I think my wife is going into labour."

At these words the healer went instantly from casual to business-like.

"This way, please sir," she said moving out from behind the desk and leading him through the doors behind it into a corridor lined with doors. She pushed one open and held it for him, so that he could carry Padmé into the examination room, which was a soothing shade of blue.

"Just lay her on the bed," the healer said as she walked over to a small com-terminal by the door. Pressing the button, she spoke, and her voice echoed up and down the corridors. "Healer Arden to examination room 3 please."

Less than a minute later, the door opened again to reveal a second woman, this one slightly taller than her colleague, with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. Unlike her colleague, however, she was dressed in a white surgeons gown and she already had a pair of gloves on.

"What's going on?" the newcomer asked the healer who had led Anakin in here.

"Labour," was all the first healer needed to say.

"Fine," said the second healer, walking over to Anakin, "Sir, can you wait outside briefly while I make my examination? Healer Kaltar will take you to the visitors area to wait."

"Can't I stay?" Anakin asked, "I'd like to be here for the delivery."

"And you will be, sir, if your wife wishes you to be, but for now I'd like it if you waited outside, at least outside this room."

For a moment Anakin was irrationally tempted to take the woman's head off with his lightsaber. But then he remembered that he knew nothing about delivering babies. So he nodded in acquiescence, and allowed Healer Kaltar to take him outside. Once outside, however, he remembered that there was someone else who could help him. Reaching down he took his com-link from his belt and punched in Obi-Wan's frequency. He answered almost immediately.

"Yes?"

"Obi-Wan, Padmé's in labour!"

"She is?" Obi-Wan asked, "I'll be right there!"

"Thank you, master." Anakin said, then put the com-link back on his belt as Obi-Wan signed off. In doing so, however, he gave the healer standing with him a clear view of the traditional Jedi garb that he still wore beneath his non-descript cloak. Her eyes became very large and round at the sight.

"Are you a Jedi?" she asked, no small amount of awe seeping into her voice and into her presence.

"Not anymore," Anakin said quietly.

"But you were one?" she pressed.

"Yes," Anakin said calmly, "I was."

"Wow," the healer gasped, "I've never met a Jedi before. I'm Anya Kaltar." She said holding out her hand.

"Anakin Skywalker." He said, taking her hand in his. He had thought her eyes wide after the realisation that he was a Jedi, but somehow they managed to get even wider at this revelation. In another time and place it might have been comical, but now he felt only shame at the idea that he was a hero to her, and probably to a great many others who had absolutely no idea of the terrible things he had done.

Fortunately, however the awkward moment was saved by the opening of the door to the examination room. Healer Arden came out and joined them in the corridor. She spoke at once to Anakin.

"Sir your wife is resting comfortably now. Or at least," she amended slightly, "as comfortably as she can be for the moment. We don't generally use the full strength pain killers on pregnant women that we do on normal patients, for fear of causing complications."

"What about the baby?" Anakin asked anxiously, "Is she not having it now?"

"No sir," the healer replied, "What you saw was false labour. In very simple terms her body was practicing the proper muscle movements in preparation for the actual birth. It's not common in humans, but I have seen it quite a few times, especially with first time pregnancies."

"Yes this is Padmé's first pregnancy," Anakin said, then just wanting some assurance he asked, "So she's fine? I mean nothing's wrong with her?"

"Well I should like to admit her as a patient so that I can conduct a more thorough examination, but no I don't see anything overtly wrong with her."

"Great," Anakin sighed in relief. At least he hadn't seriously harmed his wife in his anger. Now all he had to worry about was being there for the delivery, and then he and Padmé could leave and go somewhere far away, just as she had suggested, where they would remain untroubled by Sith Lords or Galactic Empires or Jedi and where he could happily forget about the Force.

"However," Healer Arden continued, "I shall need both your names and some way of contacting you in case an emergency arises with your wife."

_Oh no! _Anakin thought. _What do I do now? Do I give our real names? But doing that will be sure to bring Palpatine's attention here. _Already stymied, however, by the fact that he had already told Anya who he really was, he saw no option but to give their real names, and his com-frequency. Thankfully, however, Healer Arden was far more composed and less starry-eyed after learning who he was. Her sense showed that she was surprised, but she kept it well hidden. All she said was:

"Keep an eye on your cloaks, Anya here has often said that she'd kill to get her hands on one."

Anakin turned his eye on Anya, who went bright red at this, and hurried off, looking, and feeling, very flustered. Anakin looked after her with slightly narrow eyes. Sometimes he just did not understand women. Surely she realised that his cloak was not really worth killing over. Then he remembered with a jolt that he was not really in a position to judge when it came to the issue of senseless killing. Healer Arden also watched Anya's retreating back with an expression of open amusement on her face. Then she added:

"And don't be surprised if your com goes off a few times and the other end is silent, now that she's got your frequency."

He laughed at that one, although he was still unsure whether Healer Arden was joking or not about the first part. Better to be safe, he decided, and resolved to ensure that Padmé was protected.

"I take it she's a fan of Jedi, then."

"Less of Jedi in general, more of you personally."

Anakin became even more alarmed at that, and resolved at once to stay by Padmé's side personally to make sure she was safe. But he also felt that he should clarify the situation, just to avoid any possible misunderstandings later on.

"Well, Healer Arden, please tell her that I'm already spoken for."

"Please," she said, "Call me Kyla. And who is it that speaks for you? I thought Jedi were not allowed to marry."

Anakin's nod towards the examination room was all that was really needed.

"_Really?_" she asked, this time showing her surprise clearly, "She's actually your wife?"

"Yes."

"Well then I guess that I should let you see her then."

"If that would be alright," Anakin said.

"Of course," Kyla said, somewhat mortified that she had kept husband and wife apart. She had assumed that the Jedi had simply been doing a good deed in helping a pregnant woman. At once Anakin stepped around her and into the examination room, to find Padmé lying on the bed of the exam room with a fairly contented smile on her face. Apparently her false labour had passed.

"Hi there," she said, fairly cheerfully, "I thought maybe you had forgotten about me in here."

"Never," said Anakin, "I was just talking with Kyla."

"Kyla?"

"Healer Arden," Anakin said, pointing with his thumb towards the closed door behind him.

"Ah, yes. And what did she say?"

"She wants to keep you here for a full examination, just to be sure that everything is in order."

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

"I'll find a place to stay, then when you've had the baby, we can leave and go wherever you want, just you, me and our child. Obi-Wan and Yoda will probably head out soon to take Palpatine, they're more than capable of it."

"Well, we'll see," she said. Now she had thought about it, she realised that her husband could never evade his destiny. He would have to confront Palpatine at some point and end it once and for all, but she was wise enough to see that now was not the time to let him know about this little insight of hers. He frowned slightly at her ambiguous statement, but let it pass for now. He was too glad to know that she was alright to want to get into an argument now.

At that moment the door opened again and Obi-Wan entered to room. He surveyed the happy couple before him, before commenting.

"Either that was the shortest delivery on record or the two of you decided to get me all the way up here for no reason," he said with good humour.

"Actually neither, master," Anakin replied, "It was false labour."

"Fair enough," Obi-Wan said reasonably, "As long as I am here though, Anakin, Master Yoda wishes to see both of us."

"When?" Anakin asked.

"As soon as possible," Obi-Wan replied.

"Why keep him waiting then?" Padmé said, "Take Anakin and go and find him then."

"Are you sure, Padmé," Anakin asked, concern written all over his face, "Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine, Anakin, I'm sure these healers are extremely competent."

"So long as you're sure…"

"Go!" she commanded, peremptorily pointing towards the door.

Grinning, Anakin stood and bowed.

"Yes milady," he said in the cheekiest tone he could muster, then he quite deliberately turned to Obi-Wan without saying good-bye, "Let's go find Yoda, Master."

Watching the little interplay with amusement, Obi-Wan nodded his head in acquiescence and started out with Anakin right on his heels. As they reached the door, however, Anakin relented and went back to kiss his wife a fond farewell. Then the two brothers headed out into the hall, stopping to converse for a moment with Kyla about Padmé's care before heading off the find Yoda.

* * *

It took some time to find him, but eventually they came across him in a large observation dome, staring out at the starry sky that was not obscured by the thin atmosphere that the asteroid was able to retain. He knew they were there without turning around.

"Glad to see you both I am." Yoda said, "Much to discuss, we have. Sit with me you both will."

Obi-Wan and Anakin both moved together to sit with the diminutive Jedi Master, forming a triangle in which each participant faced towards the other two.

"Much to say we all have," Yoda continued, "But first tell you I must that failed I did. Sidious still lives."

"Then he is too powerful for any Jedi," Anakin said with conviction, "You must run while the option is still left to you. Hide and rebuild, train more Jedi, and then face Palpatine when you are ready."

"Speak of us as separate from yourself do you, young Skywalker? Think of yourself as better perhaps you do?"

"On the contrary, Master Yoda," Anakin protested, "It is that I no longer deserve the title of Jedi. You must know what I have done, if you have been to Coruscant."

"Refer you do to the Temple?" Yoda asked with his head cocked on one side, "Admit I do that, seeing that, I thought you lost. But it seems that give up on you so easily the Force will not, and so neither will I. Trust in the Force I do, and in Master Kenobi's teachings. But most importantly, feel the good in you I do, the remorse, despite your shields. Not so closed to me as you would like to think you are. Nine hundred years, taught me a few tricks they have."

"Master Yoda, I think perhaps you don't realise the full extent of my deeds." Anakin said as calmly as he could. Didn't Yoda realise that he couldn't be a Jedi anymore? He couldn't be trusted with that kind of power! He had already done terrible things with it, and who was to say what else he could do if he kept using it? Trying to convince him, he decided to tell Yoda the rest of it, "It isn't just the Temple and the younglings. It's Master Windu as well. I killed him too! He _had_ Palpatine, would have arrested him if not for me! But I prevented it! I let Palpatine _kill_ him! I stood by and did _nothing_ as Palpatine threw him out of the window to his death!"

"Deny that you made a grave error, I do not," Yoda replied, "But errors, redeemed they can be. If faith in ourselves we have, then true to the Light we can be. A question of trust it is, trust in friends, trust in the Force, but most important: trust in oneself!" He punctuated the last three words with none too gentle taps of his gimmer stick against Anakin's shins.

Anakin supposed he should not be surprised that Yoda had, whether by design or inadvertently, seen directly to the core of his issues. Resisting the urge to massage his now fairly sore shins, however, Anakin continued to argue.

"But Master Yoda, surely this is different…"

"No different!" Yoda snapped, now quite tired of young Skywalker's wallowing, "Think you that first Jedi you are to fall to the Sith? Not at all! Many before you there have been. Returned to us some of them did, and became great heroes of our Order. Know you the story of Revan?"

"No, Master."

"A powerful Jedi Revan was during the time of the Mandalorian Wars, a thousand years ago. A great warrior he was, much as you are, and strong also in the Force. Against the Jedi Council's wishes he joined the war between the Republic and the Mandalorians. Took with him his partner Malak he did. Distinguished war heroes they became, highly decorated and well loved by the people of the Republic. But sometime after the end of the war, disappeared Revan and Malak did. Heard from them no one did for some time. When returned they did, however, Sith they were. Revan the master, Malak the apprentice, and at their backs was a gigantic fleet. Made war upon the Republic they had sworn to protect they did. Destroyed whole star systems of planets they did. Innocents butchered, planets razed, Jedi faced, fought and killed, all these things and many others Revan and Malak did. But in the end, captured Revan was. Betrayed by his apprentice and taken by the Jedi. His memory, wiped it was, although according to the accounts the wipe was not permanent. Remembered some things he did, even through his new identity. Returned to the Jedi he was, and given a mission to destroy his former partner and apprentice, Malak. On this assignment took with him he did, a young Padawan named Bastilla Shan. Retraced the journey he took on the path to becoming a Sith, he did, eventually leading him and his companions to an ancient monument left by some forgotten race called the Star Forge. There confronted Malak he did, and Malak tempted him to go back to the Dark Side. But remained true he did, and slew Malak, and for that hailed as a hero of the Jedi he was. Married Bastilla Shan he did as well. So, many parallels between Revan and you there are. A great hero of the Jedi he was, twice over. The same feat you can achieve."

Anakin was shocked. Never before had he seen the diminutive Grand Master so obviously annoyed and angry. But more than that, the story Yoda had just told had affected him deeply. He did see the similarities between Revan and himself. Perhaps there was something for him after all.

"What happened to Revan?" he asked quietly.

Yoda was silent for a moment.

"Disappeared he did," Yoda said heavily, "Not long after his triumph over Malak, left for the Unknown Regions. The precise reason for this, not recorded anywhere that I know of. Records of that time, incomplete they are, because of the rebuilding that was necessary in the Jedi Order. Journals left by a certain Master Kreia, speak they do of a menace in the Unknown Regions called the True Sith. Claimed she did that the Sith we know, an offshoot only of a far larger evil they are. Substance to her ideas, there has never been. No trace of these True Sith have we ever found within the Republic, and a few missions into the Unknown Regions, find nothing they did. What to believe in this regard, I do not know, but enough problems we have of our own at the moment. Deal with Palpatine we must, with the Sith we know of, before go looking for others we should."

"I agree," Obi-Wan said, entering the conversation for the first time, "But there are other issues here as well. It seems clear that the Sith have advanced in the last thousand years. They have studied the Force and our ways and learned our weaknesses. It seems to me that we must do the same."

"Correct you are," Yoda agreed, "Adapt we must, and quickly, if any hope there is to be for the Republic. What suggest you, Master Kenobi?"

"We must learn of the ways of the Sith, and more importantly the powers that they possess," Obi-Wan said, "How we can do this, I don't know, but perhaps if we return to Coruscant, the Archives in the Temple can point us in the right direction, or even give us the information we seek."

"Hmmm," Yoda said, rubbing his chin with one hand, "A better idea, I have. Heavily guarded the Temple is now, impossible for us to get in it would be. To Korriban the three of us should go. A small planet in a system not far from here it is. There find we will the information we seek ."

"Why, Master?" Obi-Wan asked, "What is on Korriban?"

"The homeworld of the Sith it is. So far as we know," Yoda amended slightly, "Perhaps originate elsewhere they did, if Master Kreia is to be believed. But the capital of the Old Sith Empire it was. If anywhere there is information on them and their practices, there it will be. But careful we must be," he cautioned, "A planet steeped in the Dark Side it is. Great care we must take, that influenced by it we are not."

"Surely that rules me out then," Anakin said, "I fell to the Dark Side once already. If I were to travel to a planet saturated by it…"

"On the contrary Anakin," Obi-Wan interrupted, "You are the ideal one to do this. You have already walked in the Dark Side and returned. You know it better than anyone. Who better to study the ways of the Sith and then return than a former Sith?"

Anakin could not say anything. He just sat there, staring at Obi-Wan as though he had gone crazy, which Anakin was sure he had. Surely Obi-Wan could not be suggesting that he travel to a planet steeped in the Dark Side. Nor could he be suggesting that he study the ways of the Sith. The notion was insane. He had succumbed to the Dark Side once already, and look what he had done then! There was not telling what he might do if he voluntarily walked deeper into the Darkness. He could destroy the last two Jedi in existence without a second thought. He could kill any chance for the galaxy to be restored to the Light. And there was no telling what he might do to Padmé in a fit of rage. He could hurt her again, or even worse kill her this time, and destroy their unborn children. He looked to Yoda, certain that he, at least would see that the idea was ludicrous, that there was no way he should be allowed within a thousand light years of anything to do with the Dark Side. But instead to his horror, he saw consideration in the ancient master's moss green eyes. Yoda was actually giving this stupid, stupid idea thought, instead of rejecting it straight off. It was when he saw the light of acceptance enter the Grand Master's eyes that he finally snapped.

"You…You can't be serious," Anakin stammered, looking from Obi-Wan to Yoda and back again, "You can't possibly be serious."

He stood up abruptly.

"I…I can't hear this. You can't possibly ask me to…You can't be serious."

He fled, still muttering and stammering incoherently to himself as he ran out of the room. Obi-Wan got up to go after him, to try to reason with him and make him see that this was the best way.

"Stay."

Yoda's single word of command was enough to make him halt. He turned and looked quizzically at him.

"Surely, Master, you agree that this is the best way for us to proceed. Anakin needs to be convinced of that. I must speak with him."

"Stay," Yoda repeated, "Alone young Skywalker needs to be. Time to consider this we should give him. No small thing it is that we ask of him. To walk willingly into the Dark Side, a perilous journey it is. And returning, harder by far than we can imagine, it is. Not lightly will he do this, and press him to do it we should not. Seen already we have, the result of pressing him too hard. In the meantime meditate we should, consult the Force upon this new course we have decided upon. Then prepare we will for what lies ahead. Only after all this is done, speak with young Skywalker you should. A new course may yet present itself."

So, what's the verdict? Like it? Hate it? Leave a review and let me know!


	4. Rescue Mission

For disclaimers, warnings and pairing notifications, see Chapter 1.

Author Note: A pretty long chapter this time at just over 9k words, but I couldn't find a convenient break point in it. Hope you enjoy anyways.

* * *

Several hours later Obi-Wan returned to the small skiff they had arrived in, in search of Anakin. Stopping, he reached out and probed the ship for signs of life, but as far as he could tell, the ship was devoid of any life. Nevertheless, the ship was the last place he had left to look. Even Padmé had not seen Anakin since they had last left together. So he walked up the ramp and onto the ship. On cursory inspection he did not see Anakin anywhere. But then he heard a small crash and a loud stream of quite untranslatable exclamations in Huttese emanating from the shaft that gave maintenance access to the ship's main engines. He could not help but grin at his old friend's penchant for tinkering. Idly he wondered whether Anakin would finally manage with this ship what he had been threatening to do since the age of about 10 and create an engine that could move the ship from one place to another instantaneously. He entered the maintenance bay of the ship and leaned over the edge of the shaft, looking down into its dark tangle of wiring and conduits. He could not actually see Anakin, which he expected since the hyperdrive was actually round a corner at the bottom of the shaft.

He was just about to call out and let Anakin know that he was there when Anakin's hand appeared from around the corner in the shaft. At the same moment, a rather hard and fairly heavy object struck him in the back, nearly sending him tumbling down the shaft. He managed to regain his balance and thus escape the undignified fall into the shaft, but the tool's course was altered so that instead of landing in Anakin's hand as it was clearly meant to do, it embedded itself firmly in the floor of the shaft about 20 centimetres from Anakin's outstretched hand.

"Kriffing tools!" Anakin swore, this time in Basic. His arm reached the extra distance and wrenched the hydro-spanner away from the floor before disappearing back round the bend in the shaft. Obi-Wan waited for a moment, listening to the sounds of Anakin working on whatever it was he was working on. Then after a moment the mechanical sounds stopped. Assuming that it might be safe to distract Anakin now, Obi-Wan spoke.

"Anakin."

Unfortunately he turned out to be quite inconvenient in his timing. For at once there was another, much louder crash, and he could see several sparks jump out of the shaft. This was immediately followed by a startled yell from Anakin and yet another round of cursing, this time in far too many languages for Obi-Wan to keep up. He got the general gist of it though, and decided to beat a hasty retreat away from the edge of the shaft before Anakin could make good on some of the more exotic threats he had just made regarding Obi-Wan's limbs and internal organs and the arrangement thereof.

It was several minutes before Anakin emerged once more, this time levitating himself all the way up the shaft, revealing himself to be stripped bare to the waist. His face and chest shone with sweat and sported various black smudges, a testament to the time he had just spent in the cramped and none-too-clean shaft. His hands, both the organic one and the prosthetic, also sported a number of minor burns, presumably from whatever had shorted out or broken when Obi-Wan had made his presence known to Anakin. Obi-Wan could not help but grin at the irately amused expression on Anakin's face. It felt good for him to do so. How many moments just like this had they shared during the Clone Wars? Moments when Obi-Wan, being mechanically ignorant had managed to mess up whatever Anakin was working on yet again. Whether it had been their fighters, or a captured droid transport to escape in, or a com-link to get in contact with their forces. Obi-Wan had always allowed Anakin to do the mechanical work, but then managed to somehow distract Anakin at the crucial time, causing the repair to be delayed, often by time they did not have. Anakin had often joked that Obi-Wan's little distraction routine was more dangerous than an army of battle droids when they were in a tight situation that required his technical skills.

"Master," Anakin asked with amused exasperation, obviously also remembering the countless similar incidents, "How many times have I asked you not to distract me when I'm working on something delicate?"

Obi-Wan pretended to think about that one for a second.

"Quite a few, I think," he said.

"Then why don't you _listen_?" Anakin asked, a smile on his face as he enjoyed this situation. One of the few in which he could play the teacher and Obi-Wan was the lax student.

"I am trying," Obi-Wan said, in a credible imitation of the tone Anakin used when on the receiving end of such a sentiment from Obi-Wan.

At that Anakin could hold a straight face no longer, and collapsed into laughter. Obi-Wan joined him after a moment. The tensions between them forgotten for now as they shared an old joke between close friends.

All too soon, however, the moment of humour was over, and Obi-Wan's face returned to seriousness. Seeing the change in his former master, Anakin also sobered up. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to speak, but Anakin held up his hand, stopping him before he could start.

"Let me shower and change first, Master," Anakin said, "Then we can sit down and talk about it for as long as you like."

"Fair enough," Obi-Wan allowed graciously. He was quite surprised, having come fully expecting to have to force Anakin to sit down and hear him out. For him to be willing to talk about doing something he did not want to do was nearly unprecedented. Before, he would either have refused point blank, or needed to be ordered into it. Never before had he been willing to be swayed by persuasion. "I shall be in the cockpit when you are ready."

"I'm not changing my mind though," Anakin warned as he walked out, with just a hint of his old petulance.

* * *

Emperor Palpatine paced up and down in his office, considering the events that had led to this moment. He now stood at the pinnacle of power in the galaxy. Every system of the Republic bowed before him, he held the power of the Republic's armies in one hand and the far more awesome power of the Dark Side of the Force in the other. He had a strong apprentice, perhaps one of the most powerful Force users ever to have existed, whom he had now turned nearly irrevocably to the Dark Side. Only one last challenge remained for his apprentice, and he was confident that Lord Vader would acquit himself well in it. Nevertheless he could not shake the feeling that something had gone wrong. Something was not as it should be, and he could not place it. Nowhere could he find any flaws in his design, yet a tiny voice in the back of his head whispered doom to him. He trusted such feelings, for more often than not they were the whisperings of the Force. But he was annoyed that he could not pin down what exactly was out of place.

The only factor beyond his immediate reach was Lord Vader, and there he felt he had nothing to worry about. From the moment of his little visit from that incredibly annoying little green _freak_ of a Jedi, he had known that it would be the legendary, dogmatic and thoroughly blind Obi-Wan Kenobi who would be facing Lord Vader. He had expected that battle to take a long time, and he could still feel Lord Vader's continuing struggle through the Force. Certainly Kenobi was putting up an impressive fight to so frustrate his apprentice. Indeed he would have given much to be there, simply to watch what he was sure was proving to be a truly epic battle. But the task was Lord Vader's, he could not interfere in the step that would seal the boy forever to the Sith, and he felt none of the glimmerings of light in his presence that might signal a switch in allegiances on the boy's part. Lord Vader was as deeply entrenched in the Dark Side as if he stood by his master's side.

What, then, could the source of his doubts possibly be? Suddenly the answer came to him in a flash. The Senate. Although the majority of the Senate had willingly submitted their worlds to his rule in exchange for promises of wealth or power, there were yet a few holdouts that refused to give up their tired and decrepit ideals of democracy, in particular some of the members of that ridiculous Delegation of the Two Thousand. They had nevertheless submitted, but in a moment of perfect clarity he saw that their capitulation was a sham. They were already planning a revolt against him. He would need to move swiftly and decisively to put an end to this before it began. Pressing a button on his desk he activated the com-link with his outer office where Mas Amedda sat awaiting his commands.

"Speaker Amedda," he said to the foot high image of the tall Chagrian, "Summon to me the delegations of the Mon Calamari, the Quarren, and those from Kashyyyk, Sullust, Alderaan, Chandrila and Senex. And ensure that the meeting is monitored by security forces, as a precaution. It has come to my attention that there are traitors in our midst, which cannot be tolerated."

"Yes, Master," Amedda replied, bowing slightly before turning away to carry out his orders. Palpatine sat back down, smiling evilly to himself as he considered what would be a fitting punishment for those who plotted sedition and treason against the Empire.

* * *

The doctors were most disturbed when Anakin burst into the med centre. Nevertheless they did nothing to hinder him, the determined look on his face told them that this was not something they wanted to interfere in. He consulted briefly with Healer Arden and she rushed off. Then he made his way quickly to the maternity ward of the med-centre. He halted outside the door to Padmé's room, taking a moment to compose himself before he knocked. When she saw the grim look on his face as he entered, her anxiety climbed.

"What is it?" she asked, "Has something happened?"

"Yes," Anakin replied tersely, "We need to leave now."

"Why?"

"Because hours ago various members of the Senate were arrested on Palpatine's orders for 'treason against the Republic'. Among them were Senators Organa and Mothma."

Padmé looked horrified.

"Has anything been said about their fates?" she asked quickly.

Here Anakin brightened, noticeably.

"Yes, actually. The broadcast said they were being held on Coruscant while trials were prepared. Which gives us an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Padmé asked, not quite following for a moment. Then it dawned on her what her husband was implying. "We're going to rescue them?" She asked, excited.

"Yes, Yoda, Obi-Wan and I need to return to the Temple. While we do that, we can also free the senators. The charges include plotting to overthrow the Empire. If there is any truth to that charge, then they may be able to help us."

"What are we waiting for?" Padmé asked, throwing back the covers on her bed and swinging her legs around so that her feet were on the floor.

"Actually," Anakin replied, quite seriously, "Healer Arden is just coming with her best estimate of when you are due," then his tone became somewhat lighter, and he grinned rather crookedly, "After all, going into labour in the middle of a rescue mission would make it much more challenging."

Before Padmé could come up with a suitable retort, Healer Arden breezed in with a stack of paperwork. She made a show of outrage at Padmé being halfway out of bed without a doctor's permission, and ordered her back into bed. Anakin watched with growing amusement as the woman who had debated in the Senate every day for at least a decade was rendered helpless by the determined Healer. Of course in the Senate, one could not threaten to have one's opponent sedated, so he supposed that the healer had rather an unfair advantage. Once Padmé was ensconced in the bed once more, Healer Arden made a few final checks. Then she handed Anakin Padmé's chart with a note scrawled at the bottom that read: 'Seven standard days, don't let her do anything strenuous.', before turning to Padmé and saying:

"_Now_, you can get out of bed, Mrs Skywalker. And since you husband tells me you'll be leaving shortly, I'm urging you to seek medical care at your next port of call, unless your husband, or one of the other Jedi with you is a trained midwife."

"Thank you, Healer Arden," Padmé said with as much dignity as she could muster. Then she got up completely, shedding her hospital gown and donning her own now freshly laundered clothes. Anakin thanked the healer and the happy couple left. They met up with Obi-Wan and Yoda at their ship, and the four of them boarded and departed Pollis Massa. They did not, however, set course for Coruscant as Padmé had expected. Instead Anakin keyed in a course for Alderaan.

"Why Alderaan?" she asked him.

"We need to contact Bail's wife, so that we have somewhere safe to bring the Senators. Also there's something I want to drop off with her."

"Really?" Padmé asked, "What?"

"You'll see," Anakin replied evasively.

"Anakin!" Padmé exclaimed, not fooled at all by her husband's act, "You are not just dumping me on Alderaan!"

"Actually, that was what I was going to tell you next, you should stay behind on Alderaan and help Bail's wife prepare a hiding place."

"No! Why should I stay behind? Give me one good reason!"

"This," Anakin said, holding out her chart with the scribbled note at the bottom, "With the time it will take us to get to Alderaan and then from there to Coruscant, you're due right in the middle of the time when we would be trying to rescue your friends. Plus I'm sure breaking into two of the most highly guarded facilities in the whole of the Empire right now comes under the heading of 'something strenuous'. So I'm begging you, Padmé, for our children's sake as well as our own to stay on Alderaan while Yoda, Obi-Wan and I take care of this."

This last sentence was accompanied by a look of such pleading in her husband's azure eyes that Padmé's heart melted. How could she refuse him when all he was thinking about was the welfare of her and their children? She might be afraid to lose him, like she nearly had on that landing platform, but she could not help loving him for wanting to keep her safe.

"Alright, Ani, I'll stay on Alderaan," she sighed, but then became sterner, "But you'd better hurry back to me."

"Angel, you know I'll always come back to you. You're everything to me."

"Flatterer," she said with feigned disdain. Inside, however, she was warmed by the glimmer of Anakin's old self that was visible in his words. She had always worried about his leaving during the Clone Wars, and he had always used the same words to reassure her. Hearing them now was like a balm on their troubled relationship, a reminder of better times and a hope to work towards in the future.

The trip to Alderaan took most of the day, and it was late evening when they landed at the palatial complex in the planet's capital of Aldera. Breha Organa, Queen of Alderaan and wife of the esteemed Senator, received them graciously, if somewhat stiffly. Her attitude was completely understandable, however, considering her husband's predicament. She brightened considerably when she learned of their intended mission, and agreed to prepare to shelter and protect the fugitive Senators on their return. She also proved amenable to Padmé's presence, once she got over the shock of discovering that the Nubian Senator was married to Anakin, and she was quick to reassure Anakin that Padmé would have every available care when it was time for her to deliver their children. Anakin had also proved the innocence of his comment about dropping something off by leaving behind a small holo-disc, asking Padmé to take care of it and telling her that if he should happen not to make it back, the contents of the disc were for her. All in all, the visit had proved to be a highly successful one. Now all Anakin had to worry about was the upcoming rescue Yoda, Obi-Wan and he were undertaking.

Overall he didn't like it. It was not that he did not see the importance of rescuing the captive Senators, he did. What he did not see, however, was how Obi-Wan and Yoda could trust him enough to bring him along. He knew what they were doing. In all likelihood, Kenobi had told Yoda about his refusal to touch the Force, and they were dragging him along in the hopes that he would have no choice but to call on his old Jedi skills during the course of the mission. They were probably right too, after all they were going to break into and out of two of what were undoubtedly the most heavily guarded buildings in the galaxy. The three of them would need every power and advantage they could get, especially since he and Obi-Wan were missing their lightsabers. However that did not mean that he had to like it. He had not been lying to Obi-Wan when he said that the Force was too much power for him to be trusted with. Still, he rationalised, with two Jedi Masters to keep him in check, perhaps he could risk it, just this once. Then he could take Padmé and leave, leave the galaxy to its fate and raise their children while Obi-Wan and Yoda went off to be the heroes.

These thoughts were interrupted as Obi-Wan came into the cockpit of the skiff and sat in the co-pilot's chair. For several moments they both just sat there, staring out at the psychedelic swirl of colour that was the only view available in hyperspace. Finally, however, Obi-Wan broke the silence.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine," Anakin answered flatly, not wishing to get into another debate about trust, or use of the Force, or any one of the thousand other issues that Obi-Wan now seemed to want to talk to him about on an hourly basis.

"You're lying," Obi-Wan observed calmly.

Anakin sighed dramatically.

"Why did you ask then, if you already know the answer?"

"I wanted to see if _you_ knew the answer."

Anakin groaned.

"Please, Master, no more mind games. I'm coming with you just like you asked, aren't I?"

"Yes, but there's much more to it than just the one rescue mission, Anakin, you know that. There is the future of the Order to think of."

"Well don't let me stop you thinking about it then," Anakin said, making as if to leave. Obi-Wan stopped him with a hand firmly holding onto his wrist.

"You know what I mean, Anakin."

"Don't," Anakin warned, shaking his head, "We've been through this already."

"Yes we have," Obi-Wan agreed, "But you don't seem to have considered anything I said."

"Because you have no idea what you're talking about," Anakin said roughly, "If you had ever touched the Dark Side, which I'm very glad you haven't, Master, you would realise what it is, why I can't ever risk it again."

"Then help me," Obi-Wan pleaded quietly, "Help me to understand. I want to, Anakin, I want to understand what you've gone through, to share that burden with you. Together we can overcome it, I'm sure of it."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, Master, believe me," Anakin responded with equal earnestness, "But this burden is mine. It's my punishment, for what I've done, and not half as much as I deserve."

"But…"

"Enough, Master. The choice is made. I'm helping you with this mission because you asked me to, and I'll help you by plumbing the Dark Side for you because I'm the only one of the three of us who can be risked in such an undertaking. If by some miracle I make it through and you don't have to put me down like a rabid dog afterwards, then I'll settle down with Padmé and we'll raise our children until they are old enough to choose their own paths."

He pulled his hand out of Obi-Wan's grasp and swept out of the cockpit. Obi-Wan let him go, realising that he could not win this battle on this day. There would be other days though, he thought to himself, and perhaps the successful completion of this rescue might give his old Padawan some of his confidence back.

* * *

The rest of the journey through hyperspace passed without incident, and seven hours later Anakin returned to the cockpit to pilot them down to the planet. Their Theta class shuttle was ubiquitous enough not to draw any attention from Traffic Control. Then Anakin made for the Temple's landing platform, which resulted in them being challenged. Anakin and Obi-Wan had prepared for this by donning clone armour and voice modulators, so they looked and sounded like ordinary soldiers. Their stated cover was as a demolition team, travelling to the Temple to prepare for its impending destruction, one of the few of Palpatine's plans that Anakin was already aware of. Luck, or the Force, was with them and their cover was accepted without question. Proceeding to the Temple, they landed in one of the subsidiary hangar bays. Anakin and Obi-Wan shed their disguises to reveal their Jedi robes, then the three disembarked and entered the halls of the Temple.

Their first stop was the Temple's workshop and armoury, where Padawans were taught basic mechanics and where they constructed their first lightsabers. Since the start of the Clone Wars it had become more and more common for Jedi to lose their lightsabers in battle, so the workshop had kept on hand a number of spares, which they hoped to procure for themselves. Anakin had chosen their landing spot with this destination in mind and they were able to cover the short distance between the landing bay and the armoury without incident. There they found half a dozen lightsabers still intact amongst the wreckage of machinery. Obi-Wan was relieved to see that the bodies of the fallen Jedi had been cleared out since the last time he had been there. He was not sure how Anakin would have reacted if they had come across any of his victims, but he was sure it would not have been good. He was also encouraged by the small smirk that appeared on Anakin's face as he picked up one of the lightsabers. Perhaps some adventure would convince Anakin that remaining a Jedi was the right thing to do. His old Padawan had always been a bit of a thrill-seeker, a remnant of his childhood dreams about Jedi, and he would surely get his fill of that on this mission. They clipped the spare lightsabers to their belts, keeping their chosen ones in hand, in case they should need them, and then moved on.

Their next stop, the Archives, proved considerably more difficult to get to. They had expected heavy guard details in the Temple, since they knew that it was still thought to be summoning Jedi back from the war to their doom. What they had not expected, however, were the static guard posts that seemed to have cropped up every few hundred yards. When Obi-Wan and Yoda had first penetrated the Temple the guard forces had consisted entirely of roving patrols, but now many major intersection sported static strong points that necessitated a much more circuitous route since they could not risk an engagement yet with not even half their mission achieved. At last, however, they made it to the Archives. There it was easy to lose themselves in the banks of data-chips and crystals until they came across a secluded terminal. Obi-Wan and Yoda moved off to tackle the restricted sections of the Archives, the areas only masters and Council members could enter, while Anakin stayed and began to search the public sections of the Archives for any and all records on the Sith. On impulse he also included in his search all materials on lightsaber and Force techniques, knowing that if the Jedi Order was to be re-established this was knowledge they would need to teach any potential students. Finally the terminal spat out a list of the data-chips and crystals that contained the information he sought. It was rather a long list, but there was no helping that, besides, he had a plan to help fix that. He had brought with them some blank data-chips which he had spent some of the flight tinkering with. Taking them apart, he had sandwiched extra layers of storage material into the set-up, doubling and then tripling their storage capacity. The one hundred long list of items he now had would easily fit into just thirty of the blank chips, which would fit easily into a small pouch hanging from his belt. He set off through the stacks, collecting the chips the computer had indicated and brought them all back to the terminal. He then set the terminal to work, copying the data from the Archive chips to his modified ones.

Looking around to determine that the Archives were deserted, he decided that there was one little errand that he could take care of while the transfer was in progress. Finding another terminal, he turned it on and set to work. The Jedi Temple's computer was up-linked to the entire holo-net, and through it to the Senate building as well. He had never really practiced slicing, but building machines had provided him with experience in programming computers, and his knowledge of electronics allowed him to figure it out very quickly. He broke into the Senate databases and downloaded all the current and draft resolutions, so that they could get an idea of what Palpatine's political plans were for the present and future. He also broke into the Supreme Chancellor's Office computer and simply initiated a full download from there. Finally he sliced into the Coruscant defence network and added a few subroutines to the defence response programmes, a few little surprises to help cover their escape when the time came. Feeling a little frivolous from his complete success, he returned to the Supreme Chancellor's network and left Palpatine a personal message before disconnecting again. The data he recovered filled another five of the chips he was carrying before he snuck back to his initial terminal to see how that little job was going.

He ran into Obi-Wan and Yoda, looking to see where he had gone, their robes bulging with retrieved holocrons and data-discs. Not saying a word he quickened his pace until he stood by the terminal and checked the progress of the data transfers. Seeing that they were all done, he retrieved his thirty modified chips and placed them in his belt-pouch along with the other five, leaving the originals where they were,. With luck their movement would not be noticed until they were long gone from the planet. The terminal's internal chrono showed that they had been there sixty minutes already. Time to leave.

The three Jedi moved swiftly and silently, heading back to their ship, the first part of their mission accomplished. Unfortunately they did not quite manage to make it back. As they entered the corridor that led to the inner hangar door, all three of them suddenly felt a flash of danger. Behind them a squad of clone troopers rounded the corner and spotted them.

"Look! Jedi! Blast them!"

Anakin, who was in the middle, reached out to either side and gave his companions a shove forward.

"Go!" he shouted, "I'll hold them until you're ready to take off!"

Then he turned and ignited his borrowed lightsaber, the green blade extending just in time to pick off a blast heading for him. Calling on the Force as easily as if he had never ceased to be a Jedi, Anakin stood his ground less than two metres away from the door his companions had just fled through. His blade wove an impenetrable shield of green light before him, picking off every single one of the clone troopers' bolts and redirecting them back at the troopers themselves. It was not enough, however, for one had commed in a report already. Opening himself further to the Force, Anakin could feel responses coming from clones throughout the Temple, heading to their position. No doubt similar alerts were going off in any local air defence stations there were. Hopefully they would find themselves with a few surprises to contend with before they could scramble fighters or transports to intercept them in the air. Suddenly from behind he heard the roar of thrusters, and felt Obi-Wan calling him through the Force. Not slowing the movement of his lightsaber, he backed up the last two metres, opening the door behind him remotely with the Force. He stepped through and mentally keyed the door closed. Then he plunged his lightsaber into the door mechanism, destroying it and thus sealing the door shut.

Turning he saw their Theta class shuttle hovering by the hangar bay doors. Running towards it he took a flying leap to land on the shuttle's extended ramp, only then extinguishing his blade. He continued his forward momentum into the ship, slapping the control panel to retract the ramp as he went past and hearing the answering hiss of hydraulics as the ramp was raised and the craft sealed. It was then that he picked up on something that made him afraid for the first time since they had started on this mission. In the Force, there was a huge surge of anger that was very familiar to Anakin. Palpatine knew, knew that they were there. He pushed the fear away, there was little he could do about it now. Using the Force had been necessary, and he certainly was not going to willingly draw on the Dark Side just to prevent Palpatine from realising they were there. The best he could hope for was that they would miss each other altogether since Palpatine was now sure to be headed for the Temple, where he had felt the disturbance of Anakin's presence in the Force, whereas he was now going to the Planetary Detention Centre. Anakin moved swiftly into the cockpit, taking the pilot's chair that Obi-Wan had left for him.

"Palpatine knows we're here," he said without preamble as he brought the shuttle out of the hangar bay and set a course for the Detention Centre, which was only a few tens of miles away.

"How do you know?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Didn't you feel it?" Anakin asked, puzzled, "He's _furious_. I think he knows it's me."

"I did not sense anything." Obi-Wan replied.

"Neither did I," Yoda agreed, "But closer than we are to Palpatine, you are. Possible it is, that sense him you can where we cannot. A great help this link may prove to us later on."

"I just want it gone," Anakin muttered as he turned his concentration to weaving the shuttle at top speed through Coruscant's traffic lanes.

Ahead they saw the large squat building that was the Detention Centre come into view. Fortunately the surprises that Anakin had planted in the defence grids so far seemed to be working, the laser cannons that provided air defence were not lit up, and no military craft were in sight. Deciding that since their cover was already blown ,stealth was useless, Anakin aimed the shuttle directly for the prison's landing bay, a cavernous opening roughly in the centre of the building. Fortunately for them, the Detention Centre was mostly guarded by droids, since the work was routine and therefore judged to be less important than the battlefield for the presence of clones. Thus the hangar bay was devoid of guards. Anakin set the shuttle down at the very back of the bay, nearest to the exit. After all the Senators would need to be got on board quickly to protect them from any guard force that might try to prevent their flight.

Disembarking, the three companions found themselves alone in the hangar.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Anakin commented.

"As well you should, Lord Vader," a raspy voice said from behind them, "Betrayal is not something I suffer lightly."

The three whirled to find Palpatine standing there, glaring daggers at all three of them, but Anakin most of all. He appeared to be alone, but Anakin guessed that he had sent his Red Guards to secure or terminate the prisoners they were hoping to rescue. Yoda had already faced Palpatine and, by his own admission, come very close to losing his own life. Obi-Wan was not nearly as strong as Yoda in the Force, nor as skilled with a lightsaber, he would not last ten minutes against the Sith Master. Anakin knew that there was only one solution to this problem, but he did not like it.

"Go," he said, turning to Obi-Wan and Yoda, "Find the Senators and free them, I'll handle this."

"But Anakin…" Obi-Wan tried to argue.

"_Go_."

Yoda, at least, got the message and started to head off into the Detention Centre, dragging Obi-Wan with him by the simple device of clutching the hem of his robes and not letting go while moving inexorably. It was quite a comical sight to watch the tiny Grand Master pulling along the considerably taller and heavier Jedi Master by his cloak. Anakin watched them go with something akin to longing on his face. Then he turned back resolutely to face Palpatine.

"What do you hope to accomplish by this, Lord Vader?" Palpatine spat the last two words like a curse.

"Don't call me that," Anakin said mildly, acting as though he was completely unperturbed by all this, whereas inside he was shaking with fear.

"Why not, Lord Vader?" Once again Palpatine emphasised his Sith title.

"My name is Anakin Skywalker."

"A weak name," Palpatine sneered, "For a weak person, a slave. I offered you so much more than that. I offered you power."

"You offered me more slavery, Sidious," Anakin countered, "I looked into the Darkness and I didn't see anything there that I could ever want! I saw endless suffering in the name of a false security, I saw the destruction of all those I had called friends, but most of all I saw the death of my wife. A death you promised me I could prevent but which it turns out I nearly caused."

"You would have been well served to have killed her. It would have made you stronger."

"At the cost of my soul, not something I am willing to give up for something so fleeting as strength in the Dark Side. I already have plenty of strength in the Force"

"Do you?" Palpatine intoned softly, surreptitiously raising his hands.

Anakin's danger sense flashed again, warning him of the impending attack. Knowing that, unlike Yoda, he could not block the Force Lightning that was undoubtedly what Palpatine was about to throw at him, he leapt out of the way, hitting the durasteel deck and rolling swiftly to his feet almost ten metres away from where he had previously been standing. As he rose, he unclipped his borrowed lightsaber from his belt and ignited the forest green blade. Palpatine's next blast of Force Lightning earthed itself on the blade rather than in Anakin's body. Anakin's hands shook with the intensity of the blast, but he reached into the Force to provide him with strength and it responded as it always had.

Palpatine, however, had not even begun to get started on young Skywalker. His rage at the boy's betrayal knew no bounds, and now he channelled all that anger into his lightning attack, multiplying the intensity many times over. Skywalker's blade was blasted out of his hands, and the deactivated hilt went skittering across the hangar deck, coming to a halt a hundred metres away or more. Skywalker, meanwhile bereft of a defence was writhing and screaming in agony. Palpatine smiled, enjoying the young fool's agony, he had underestimated the power granted by the Dark Side.

Anakin writhed, unable to stop himself from screaming under the intense assault of the Force Lightning that was ravaging him both physically and mentally. The pain caused by Force Lightning was much more than mere electrical shock, it brought to mind every painful and humiliating experience he had ever had until all he wanted to do was die to escape both the pain and the shame. Over and over he relived the experience of holding his mother as she passed away. Over and over he heard the gravelly voice of Master Yoda tell him that he would not be trained as a Jedi. Every single memory of something bad came roaring out of the recesses of Anakin's mind, showing him how weak he was, how feeble and worthless, how insignificant. Now he had made his final mistake, believing that he could take on a Lord of the Sith without the aid of his greatest strength, his anger. He was a fool, he was worse than that, he was a _dead_ fool.

Then his determination kicked in. He was not dead yet, there had to be a way to end this. His mind grappled with the hazy fog of pain that was clouding his thought processes. He refused to fail, Yoda, Obi-Wan and the captive Senators needed him, Padmé was waiting for him to return. He could not disappoint them, he _would_ not. Yoda knew of a technique to absorb and deflect Force Lightning, so Anakin knew that it was possible. Unfortunately Master Yoda was not around to give him a class, he was otherwise occupied. Anakin therefore turned instinctively to the one thing that had always answered his call, even when he had been too young to know what it was. He cast out into the Force. _Help me! _He cried silently at it, and as it always had, the Force responded to his call. It rolled over him, speaking to him in images and sensations, half whispers of thought and emotion that tantalised with knowledge and promise. Opening himself further to it than he ever had before, Anakin reached out to try and grasp the solution. He had never opened up this much before. Yoda had always warned that to open oneself too fully to the Force was to surrender one's individuality. Now however, that fate seemed insignificant compared to the failure that loomed if he should surrender his life. The Force swept through him in a tidal wave of power, a living river of light that tugged at him, urging him in a million different directions at once.

For his part, Palpatine was amazed by what he was sensing. Skywalker's life force had been growing dimmer by the second as his body succumbed to the damage being caused by his Force Lightning. Now, however, it blazed forth like a newborn star in the throes of thermonuclear ignition. The power Palpatine watched pouring into his former apprentice was everything he had imagined it could be. What an apprentice he would have made! Betrayal, however could not be countenanced, Skywalker must die. He poured more power into the lightning, intending to finish this now and then go in search of the last of the Jedi. Then the unthinkable happened, _Skywalker rose to his feet_! Palpatine was shocked and outraged, no being should be able to survive his Dark Side onslaught, yet Skywalker was standing there, surrounded by a crackling electric nimbus as though the hungry lightning was nothing more than an illusion. Then he looked closely and his surprise redoubled. The Force Lightning was being _absorbed_ into Skywalker's body. He was taking in the energy as though it was water and he was a sponge.

Filled with the Light, Anakin let Palpatine's onslaught wash over him, and through him, and around him. It was so simple that he could not believe he had not guessed it before, but at the same time he realised that it took a very special mind-set to fully comprehend, a mind-set he could never have reached if the Force had not shown him how. The key was to simply release everything, becoming a perfect channel for the energy to pass down and back out into the Force. For now he was content to continue this. Every second that Palpatine was futilely attempting to blast him into ashes was another second that Obi-Wan and Yoda had to complete their mission.

At last, however, Anakin was tired of his passive role in this battle. Altering the flow of energies that was passing through him, he redirected a tiny fraction of the power he was absorbing, and mentally pushed outwards. The corresponding Force push blasted Palpatine off his feet and twenty metres backwards until he connected with the very solid duracrete wall of the hangar. The impact drove the breath out of his lungs, and he lay there wheezing for a moment. Then his fury returned full force and he leapt to his feet. The fury, however, was tinged with more than a little fear. Skywalker showed no ill effects from his battle with the lightning. His burns seemed to have healed, and his expression was determined. For the first time since he had met Skywalker as a young child, he questioned whether he could defeat the boy in open combat. Never before had the issue been a problem since he had never planned on facing Skywalker, but he had always judged himself to have the superior strength. Now, however, he was less sure. No one should have been able to survive the onslaught of his Force Lightning attack. Nevertheless he would not allow the whelp to bring years of careful planning crashing down. He drew the electrum plated hilt of his lightsaber out of the forearm holster he wore and ignited the blood red blade.

Calmly, his fear lessened from having survived Palpatine's initial onslaught, Anakin extended his hand and called his borrowed lightsaber to him. He ignited the forest green blade once again and raised it to the traditional Djem So guard stance. Palpatine snarled and leapt forwards, closing the distance between them in an eye-blink. The two blades, one green and the other red worked furiously, creating a web of light that would have been considered almost artistic in nature, had anyone been present to see it. The sight of two sword masters going all out would have awed any being in the galaxy. Stabs, thrusts, slashes, parries and ripostes were traded faster than the eye could follow as the two combatants brought all their formidable training and experience to the fight. Around and across the hangar they moved, ships and machinery in the hangar becoming cover to hide behind for a brief respite or platforms from which to strike on high or simply obstacles to be leapt over. Smaller objects became missiles hurled around with the Force as the two combatants sought to gain an advantage through distraction or surprise. The true spectacle, however, lay not in the physical dimension of the battle, but in the mental and spiritual components. The two, one Light the other Dark, grappled in the Force as fervently as they did with their lightsabers and with just as much skill. Anakin's presence blazed forth like a star gone supernova now, blindingly bright in the Force as he drew strength, both physical and mental from the Light. Palpatine, by contrast, was like an event horizon, sucking in all the light that Anakin was throwing at him and sending out his own tendrils of Dark energy to assault the Chosen One. The Force twisted and roiled around them both like a hurricane swept ocean as they clashed through it.

With every passing second that the fight progressed, Anakin's confidence grew. He had never expected to last this long against Palpatine, let alone continue to hold his own. The power of the Force filled him, renewing his strength and sustaining his muscles, which would otherwise be shrieking in exhaustion by now from the tempo of the fight. His powerful Djem So style was serving him well against Palpatine's agile but also fragile style, which most closely reminded him of the way Master Yoda used Ataru. His offensives were, for the most part countered, although he had been able to score one or two scorch marks down Palpatine's robes, but Anakin did not care. This fight was nothing more than a delaying action, every precious second bringing him closer to the point where he could disengage or receive help from Obi-Wan and Yoda. He could not spare much concentration for worrying about them, the duel required most of his focus, but he was measuring the time that had passed. If all went well, the two Jedi Masters should be back at any moment with their rescuees and Anakin could disengage from this battle which seemed as though it would continue perpetually if he were to stay. Nevertheless, his continuing success did not stop him from wishing that either Obi-Wan or Yoda was with him. It was unlikely that they would ever have such a good chance to destroy Palpatine as that which was now presented to them, and it galled Anakin that in all likelihood they would not be able to take it.

Even as he was thinking it, Obi-Wan and Yoda returned to the hangar, half a dozen Senators in tow. For a moment the small party stopped at the entrance, awestruck by the spectacle of the hangar, which had largely been destroyed, and the continuing combat. Obi-Wan in particular was overwhelmed by the strength his old Padawan was displaying, both in swordsmanship and in the Force. He had always been peripherally aware of the prodigious potential that Anakin had, but never before had he seen it in action as it was here. Here, now, there was no doubt whatsoever that Anakin was the Chosen One. The spell of the moment was broken, however, as he recalled exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Together, he and Yoda ushered the awestruck Senators onto the shuttle, and Yoda went to the cockpit to prepare the shuttle for take-off while he waited at the bottom of the ramp, prepared to give Anakin assistance or cover his retreat if needed, but mainly to watch his old Padawan back in action.

The two combatants were so caught up in their struggle that it was several moments before either sensed the presence of the new arrivals. When they did, however, Anakin's heart soared at their success, while Palpatine snarled at the failure of his Red Guards to halt the Jedi or even to slow them down long enough for him to deal with them personally. Palpatine renewed his offensive, forcing Anakin back, but Anakin did not mind. They were headed in exactly the direction he wanted to go, towards the shuttle. Sensing Anakin's intentions, Palpatine locked his lightsaber with Anakin's and spoke, offering the boy a place at his side one last time.

"Forget the weaklings on that shuttle, Anakin, they can never know you as I do. They will never forgive you, never forget your destruction of their precious Republic and Order. In your heart, you know that we are the same, that you belong to the Sith. Come with me now and I will forgive your betrayal. I will show you power you have only dreamed of, the power to have anything you desire."

Anakin, however, had heard these words before, and having journeyed into the Dark Side, he now knew how empty they were, how empty _he_ would be if he accepted. He thought of Yoda and Obi-Wan, probably the only friends he had left, and of his wife, waiting for him back on Alderaan. How could he leave them in favour of such empty promises?

"Never," Anakin said in a clear, confident voice, "I'll never join you again. You have failed your Highness. I am a Jedi Knight, and you are my sworn enemy. I will not rest until you have been brought to justice."

"So be it, _Jedi_," Palpatine snarled as he broke the lock, pushing Anakin back, "If you will not join me, you will die."

Anakin continued to retreat, trading strikes with Palpatine as he went, but always moving towards the shuttle ramp and safety. Inside his heart was singing, and for the first time in his life he was sure that he had made the right decision, no catches, no pitfalls, just pure good. As they reached the ramp, Anakin gave a quick mental shove to Obi-Wan, who had been standing there, transfixed, probably shocked by Anakin's declaration. The Jedi Master started and sent a questioning probe at Anakin. He responded with a mental command, which Obi-Wan obeyed, rushing up the ramp and into the shuttle to tell Yoda that they should take off. Anakin, meanwhile halted his retreat, both feet planted firmly on the middle of the shuttle's ramp, no longer giving ground but rather hold Palpatine at the base of the ramp, refusing to give another inch to the raging Sith Lord.

Obi-Wan gave Anakin a mental warning seconds before the shuttle's thrusters fired, so he was prepared for it, with his feet braced. Palpatine, however, was not, and he was thrown off balance as the ramp rose jerkily in the air, no longer grounded on the hangar floor. Taking advantage of the opening this imbalance provided, Anakin's green lightsaber flickered out and found the flesh of Palpatine's sword-hand. The Sith Lord screamed as the forest coloured blade passed easily through flesh and bone, severing the hand, staggering back and clutching the stump of his arm. Anakin used the Force to telekinetically push Palpatine back further, and then slapped the control to raise the ramp. Anakin watched as the ramp closed, cutting off the view of the maimed Sith Lord staggering back to avoid the backwash of the shuttle's thrusters, and only when the ramp was fully raised and the hatch sealed, did Anakin extinguish his own lightsaber.

Turning, he felt suddenly exhausted as the Force drained out of him. The strain of the fight was catching up with him. Still he saw Obi-Wan standing behind him grinning like an idiot at Anakin. For his part, Anakin gave a weak smile back. He swayed a little and put out his hand to the wall to steady himself. Then he started shuffling tiredly up the ramp until his boot hit something hard that skittered away across the floor from the contact. Struggling to focus, he saw that it was a lightsaber, with a hand still attached. _Palpatine's lightsaber_, his mind told him. It must have rolled deeper into the shuttle as the ramp was raised and the shuttle took off. An idea pushed its way into Anakin's tired mind, one that would gall Palpatine no end. He turned it over for several moments examining it for flaws, but he could find none at the moment, so he attempted to bend down and pick it up. The action was too much, however, and his exhausted legs gave out beneath him, dropping him to his knees. Obi-Wan was by his side instantly, supporting him and asking him what was wrong. Anakin ignored him for a moment as he prised the abandoned weapon from the death grip of the severed hand. With great effort he removed his borrowed green lightsaber from his belt and replaced it with the electrum-plated hilt of Palpatine's own weapon. Obi-Wan saw the move and was both puzzled and disturbed.

"Anakin what…?"

"Explain…later," Anakin muttered, his mind starting to shut down from exhaustion, "Tired…"

With those words, Anakin slumped over, unconscious, and Obi-Wan had to wrestle to keep his body from falling prone to the durasteel deck. Instead he wrapped one of Anakin's arms across his shoulders and stood, half carrying, half-dragging his friend back into the cargo compartment of the shuttle, where the freed Senators sat together. The looked up as he entered with Anakin.

"Master Kenobi," Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila said in her calm and soothing voice, "Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine, he's just exhausted as far as I can tell. We should check him for minor injuries though."

"Of course," said Senator Organa, rising from his chair. He took Anakin's other arm and draped across his own shoulders, and together he and Obi-Wan brought Anakin to a chair, where they deposited him as gently as possible, trying to avoid any jarring. Together they stripped away Anakin's outer robe and tunic, leaving him in his pants, boots and under-tunic. Then Kenobi quickly and expertly probed Anakin's body, both in the Force and with his hands, checking for any injuries. He came up empty. Relieved that his brother had come to no harm, he stood and looked at Anakin's face, totally calm and peaceful in slumber. Pride in his old Padawan shone forth from Obi-Wan. Today Anakin had proved himself both as a man and as a Jedi. He had faced the Dark Lord of the Sith, and not only survived but caused the Sith serious injury as well. He had undoubtedly faced sore temptation to give in to the Dark Side, but he had remained true to the Light. He had rejected Palpatine's promises of power and declared himself a Jedi Knight. Obi-Wan could not be happier with the situation. Anakin was back where he belonged, with the Jedi Order, and today he had demonstrated that he was truly their best hope of defeating the Sith. Obi-Wan had witnessed part of the physical battle, and that alone had been amazing enough, but what he had sensed in the Force had been truly incredible. His introspection was interrupted, however, by the whine of laser impacts on their shields. The shuttle shook slightly, snapping Obi-Wan back to the present.

"I should go and help Master Yoda," he said.

"We will watch over Jedi Skywalker," Mon Mothma stated calmly.

Obi-Wan nodded his thanks and left swiftly to join Yoda in flying the shuttle. Their escape proved to be relatively clean, however. Anakin had mentioned something about sabotaging the defence nets, and whatever he had done appeared to have worked supremely well. Their pursuit turned out to consist of a single ARC-170 fighter rather than the several squadrons that they had envisaged encountering. With Obi-Wan working the defensive lasers that the shuttle sported and Yoda flying they were easily able to clear the atmosphere and make the jump to hyperspace before any further pursuit could be brought to bear.

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